Fender shield and support



June 10, 1941. PURDY 2,244,896

FENDER SHIELD AND SUPPORT Filed Aug. 5, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet} nmmu Cl/481.56 f? Puean c. F. PUiQDY 2,244,896

FENDER SHIELD AND SUPPORT June 10,1941

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 5, 1939 Zrflz EmZZF 639,044.54- f. Pacer.

Patented June 10, 1941 FENDER SHIELD AND SUPPORT Charles F. Purdy, Detroit, Mich, assignor to Houdaille-Hershey Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application August .5, 1939, Serial No. 288,513

5 Claims.

invention relates to means for covering or closing the wheel access opening in the fenderof a vehicle or in other types of wheel enclosures. In particular my invention relates to fender shields or fender skirts, as such devices are known when used in connection with a tender, but this, invention is, equally applicable to automotive vehicles having a body wide enough to enclose the. wheel without the use of fenders, and in which the wheel access openings are in the sides of the body itself. Bodies having such a, width are to be found today only among commercial vehicles, but, I wish it to be expressly understood that-this invention is equally appli cable to such bodies. on commercial vehicles and also on private vehicles, if atv some time in the future such bodies should come. into use on private vehicles. Therefore, w ile I have referred to my invention as a tender shield, it is to, be clearly understood that this term includes covers, for wheel'access openings in the side of a body or other wheel enclosing member as well as. for wheel access openings in tenders.

In d s i orna ntal de s e ds orkirt-s I t e t pe wh ch is ada ted to cover the I is b ds rable 9 rQ id nd Shield hav n p ne Qt whi h o ortio w h n th wheel access gpcn ps ahd a a ist e edge o the fender, thus making the fit of the fender shield independent of the exact size of the wheel access opening and making possible the use of the same fender shield panel on difierent tenders of the me eneral c nto r m e by n in he Justment o the f nd shi ld panel S pportin "113E3 1 Fender shield ha the a ve e t n d d sirable characteristics have been designed and are n w n P oduction, be n ma ac rd n to t e esi d s ui ed n he Q-nendin application o G qr e W1 Schat nan Serial No. 271,915 entitled Fender shield and mounting means therefor and having the same a si nee as the presnt np jiea ign- 9 9f t e principal obj c o th vention is to provide a fender shield of the gen.- e! Peerage? siesg bsg thes and ad t fit present in upon a fender whose lower edge not only turns in but. also turns up so as to form a trough-like section along the edge of the fender instead of merely a flange.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a supporting means for fender shields which is adaptable, not only to fender shields of.

the type referred to above, but also ,to other types of fender shields and which permitthe fender shield tube swung into place after one portion is connected tothe fender.

More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a means for attaching fender shields of the design referred. to above to fenders whose lower edgeis turned in and up at one side of the wheel access opening to form an upwardly facing reinforcing channel along the edge of the fender.

In accordance with the general ieatures of this invention, there is provided a member which is adapted to hook on to the upturned edge of the fende rt one side of the wheel access openingand which is pivotally' connected to the bottom of the fender shield so asjto allow the fender shield to-be first hooked on to the fender at thev bottom and then swung up into place. I t

Another feature of this invention is the provision of a swingable. hook which is removably fastens-d to the bottom of a fender shield so that it may be replaced by other types of support forpermitting the fender shield to be used with other types of fenders The novel features which I believe to be characteristic of my invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. My invention itself, however, both asto its organization and, manner of construction, together with further 010- f nder shield supporting means as seen. from.

above;

Figure 4. isa cross-section on the lines- IV---IV of, the farm of the,

but showing the parts in the position which they assume before the fender shield is swung up into place;

Figure 6 is a section on the line VIVI of Figure 2, with the fender omitted, showing the fender shield support at the front of the fender shield; and

Figure '7 is a cross-section on the line VII-VII of Figure 2 looking in the direction of the arrows. v

The embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings is designed to be mounted upon a conventional streamlined automobile fender It having an approximately semi-circular wheel access opening H. the bottom in back of and around the wheel access opening II is bent in and up so as to form an upwardly facing trough-like reinforcing portion l2, l3. The trough l2, l3 flattens out or merges into a horizontal flange I4 ahead of the wheel access opening, as shown in Figures 2 and '7.

The fender shield comprises a sheet metal panel l5 which is large enough to cover the entire Wheel access opening II as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The lower edge of the panel I5 is approximately straight and is bent back to form a horizontal flange l6, to the upper side of which is secured a reinforcing bar [1. The remainder of the edge of the panel I5, at the end and around the top, is folded back to form a thin U-shaped reinforcement and is provided with a rubber edging to prevent metal to metal contact between the fender shield panel l5 and the side of the fender II]. This detail forms no part of the present invention, although it is employed on the preferred embodiment, and is fully illustrated and described in the copend-in'g application referred to above.

The bottom of the fender shield is provided with two hooks l8 and It by means of which the fender shield is connected to the inturned flange I4 and the upturned edge oi the fender l2 in front of and in back of the wheel access opening. The two hooks l8 and I9 form pivots defining a horizontal axis about which the fender shield panel l5 may be rocked up into a position against the side of the fender. In mounting the fender shield, the panel I5 is held approximately horizontally with its lower edge under the edge of the fender, and the hooks IE1 and it are hooked up on to the fender flange M and the upturned fender edge I2. The panel is then swung up into a vertical position against the side of the fender, and its top is secured by a latch 2| more fully described below.

The front hook I8 is formed integrally with a pressed steel arm 22 which is secured to the front end of the reinforcing bar I! by meansof a pair of suitable fastening elements 23 and 24. The arm 2-2 may be shaped so as to lie entirely behind the upturned edge [3 and flange M of the fender, but a more economical con struction is provided if the arm 22 extends under the flange l4 and is provided with a flange 25 extending along its rear edge. and projecting up behind the fender flange M. Although the arm 22, if constructed in this manner, may be seen from the outside of the fender when the fender shield is in place and the eye is. level with the lower edge of the fender shield, it is:

entirely unnoticeable to a person standing near 3 the car if the arm is shaped so that its outer edge 25 is set back a little from the face of the fender edge, as shown in Figure 7.

The hook l9 at the rear of the fender shield is The edge of the fender along from the flange I6 along the bottom of the fender shield panel I5 and which is fixed to the flange l6 and the reinforcing bar I! by means of rivets 2B. The hook I 9 is not secured directly to the bracket 21 but is pivoted to a base 29 fixed to the top of the bracket 21 by means of a bolt 31.

A method of adjusting the hook l9 relative to the fender shield panel L5 in ordertoadapt the fender shield to different fenders which may differ slightly is provided by making the hole 32 for the rear bracket bolt 3! elongated so that the base 29 of the rear hook may be secured to the bracket 21 in different positions. The top of the bracket 21 and the bottom of the base 29 are formed with int-erfitting ridges and grooves and the base 29 is formed with a flange 33 fit tin-g around one side of the bracket 21 in order to prevent any accidental twisting of the base pin 34 a moderately tight fit or a spring washer 36 may be placed on the hinge pin 34 between the hook it and one of the ears or eyes 35. One end of the hook I 9 is formed into a stop 31 placed so as to come, up against the surface. of

the base 29 when the hook l9.is swung to the position shown in Figure 5 in order to facilitate the manipulation of the hook and the rest of the fender shield when the fender shield. is being,

lifted up and brought forward until the rearv hook l9 engages with the upturned edge I2 01 the fender in back of the wheel access opening, as shown in Figure 5, and the end of the front hook IB rests upon the flange M of the fender ahead of the wheel access opening. The fender shield is then swung up into a verticalposition, pivoting at the rear on the hinge pin 34 and,

at the front, on the end of the hook [-8. .Whenthis swinging movement is completed, the parts have assumed the positions vshown in Figures 4 and '7. The panel I5 is then secured in its uD- right position against the side of the fender by means of the latch 2|. 7 1 1 e The fender shield panel 15 may be shaped so that it will fit against the side of the fender. in without bein strained. but it has been found that a much tighter and better fit can be. secured if the fender-shield panel I5 is formed so that, before it is mounted on the fender, thev edges at the front and rear are less convex than the side or the fender and the edge at the central portion of the too is more convex than the side of the fender. With the fender shield. panel -|5 shaped in this manner, it is found that, when the hooks l8 and H! are hooked on to the flange 4 and the upturned edge I2 at the bottom of fender and the panel 15 is swung up into position carried by a bracket 21 which projects back in iagainst the Side Of the f d a t ght contact be tween the edge of the fender shield panel and the fender is first made at the ends of the fender shield near the bottom while the top of the panel is still spaced out from the side of the fender. As the top of the fender shield is pressed into position, the fender shield panel I5 is sprung or strained slightly and the distance along which the edge of the fender shield panel is in tight contact with the side of the fender extends from at each end of the fender until the entire edge of the fender shield panel is in tight contact. The latch 2| may then be swung up behind the upturned edge I3 of the tender and the top of the wheel access opening to hold the fender shield in its position.

The latch 2| is a dog-legged lever which is pivoted by a rivet 40 to the back of a sheet metal stay 38 on the back of the fender shield. ihe stay 38 is channel-shaped in cross-section and its lower end is fiat and bent out horizontally to form a foot which is riveted to the top of the reinforcing bar H. The upper end of the stay 33 is connected by a vertical pivot 39 to a flat plate 4| secured to the upper edge of the panel l5. This construction, which is described in detail in the copending application referred to above, permits the upper end of the stay 38 to twist slightly relative to the lower end. The handle end 42 of the latch lever 2| is shaped to fit around the flange l6 and reinforcing bar I! along the lower edge of the fender shield panel l5, and the torsional resiliency of the upright stay 38 allows it to be swung back out of engagement when it is desired to swing the handle down from the latched position shown in Figure 2.

While I have shown only one particular embodiment of my invention and have shown it only as applied to the design of fender shield disclosed in the above mentioned copending application, it will of course be understood that the 1 invention is not limited thereto, since many modifications may be made, and I therefore contemplate by the appended claims to cover all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a fender shield comprising a panel adapted to cover the wheel access opening in a fender having an upturned lower edge extending along the bottom of the fender on at least one side of said opening, means for supporting said panel on said fender including a hook adapted to fit on said upturned fender edge and pivotally connected to the bottom of said panel for swinging with respect thereto about a substantially horizontal axis parallel to the plane of said panel.

2. In a fender shield comprising a panel adapted to cover the wheel access opening in a fender having an upturned lower edge extending along the bottom of the fender on at least one side of said opening, means for supporting said panel on said fender including a hook adapted to fit on said upturned fender edge and pivotally connected to the bottom of said panel for swinging with respect thereto about a substantially horizontal axis parallel to the plane of said panel, and means for preventing the swinging of said hook past a position in which said hook can fit on said upturned fender edge when said panel is swung down from the attached position thereof to a horizontal position.

3. In a fender shield comprising a panel adapted to cover the wheel access opening in a fender having an upturned lower edge extending along the bottom of the fender on at least one side of said opening, means for supporting said panel on said fender including a hook adapted to fit on said upturned fender edge and pivotally connected to the bottom of said panel for swinging with respect thereto about a substantially horizontal axis parallel to the plane of said panel, said hook being provided with means for preventing free swinging thereof.

4. In a fender shield, comprising a panel adapted to cover the wheel access opening in a fender having an upturned lower edge extending along the bottom of the fender on at least one side of said opening, means for supporting said panel on said fender including a bracket projecting back from and secured to the bottom of said panel, said bracket being adapted to project under and beyond said upturned fender edge, and a hook adapted to fit on said upturned fender edge and pivoted to said bracket.

5. In a fender shield comprising a panel adapted to cover the wheel access opening in a fender having an upturned lower edge extending along the bottom of the fender on at least one side of said opening, means for supporting said panel on said fender including a bracket projecting back and secured to the bottom of said panel, said bracket being adapted to project under and beyond said upturned fender edge, a base member adjustably secured to said bracket, and a hook adapted to fit on said upturned fender edge and pivoted to said base member.

CHARLES F. PURDY. 

